Should Pope be able to retire?

As a Catholic at Holy Spirit Elementary School, I do not feel that it is proper for me to second-guess my parents, teachers, or the priests and nuns in our parish. I cannot help but notice, however, that the recent retirement of Pope Benedict the 16th created quite a stir in the media. He was the first Pope to "retire" from the Holy See in something like six hundred years. As a general question, is it a good idea for the Pope to retire? I can see two sides to the story.

On the one hand, nearly everybody in the world who is not in a holy order does retire eventually from their job. For example, I doubt that LeBron James will be a power forward for the Miami Heat when he is 80 years old. Even police officers usually have to retire when they are 55 or 60 years-old, as do airplane pilots. These jobs require a person to be physically agile and strong, so it is not practical to continue into old age in most cases. In some fields that require only mental activity, retirement is not mandatory at a young age. For example, college professors can continue to teach into their 80s, and politicians can get elected to the United States Senate for decades on end. But we often see people in those positions who may not be mentally as sharp as they once were, and that may not be a good thing. So, overall, I can see a strong argument for anybody, even His Holiness the Pope, eventually stepping down.

On the other hand, being a priest is not a "job" like any other job. The priests at Holy Spirit, in our Parish, and even as high up as the Bishops, Cardinals, and the Pope, are men who have taken a holy vow to serve the Church. So you do not expect to see someone like the Pope just retiring and going off to live somewhere else. It just feels a little strange. Maybe now, however, it will not be quite so strange anymore, since Pope Benedict did retire.

The other issue that some people raise is whether having an Emeritus Pope might result in a split within the church. I guess, theoretically, there could be some kind of split in the church, with some people following the old Pope, and some following the new Pope, but I think that would be unlikely given the way the Catholic Church is organized, with rules and regulations. Since Pope Benedict did something unexpected, I guess it is reasonable to ask if other new changes in the Church are also afoot. Maybe the Church will eventually allow women to be priests, or allow priests to marry. As a 12-year old, I have yet to make up my own mind regarding these complicated matters. But the resignation of one Pope, the selection of a new one, makes me think that anything is possible.